HANOI – Vietnam holds
huge growth potential for wind energy and has
policy incentives available for this sector but only three wind power projects
have been put into operation nationwide, according to a conference in Hanoi on
November 29.

Speaking at the
conference on wind energy held by the Danish Embassy, Deputy Minister of
Industry and Trade Hoang Quoc Vuong said that with a coastline of over 2,300
kilometers, the country is in a good position to develop the wind power sector.

The Government has taken
a couple of policy steps to spur clean energy development, including Decision
37, and has set a target of increasing the wind power capacity to 6,000 MW by
2030, 2.1% of total power output.

With the support of the
Danish Embassy and other foreign partners, the nation is drawing up a wind
energy map.

Vuong noted the three
existing wind farms have a combined capacity of just 150 MW. He explained
investors are not interested in this field as wind power prices are still low.

Henrik Breum, special
adviser the Danish Energy Agency’s Centre for Global Cooperation, told the
conference that before the 1973 oil crisis, 99% of electricity in Denmark was
sourced from fossil fuel-fired power stations.

But things changed a lot
in the following 40 years as Denmark embraced green energy. In 2014, renewable energy accounted
for 56% of total power generation in Denmark, the highest percentage in the
world.

Wind energy requires big
upfront investments, so the Danish government has adopted appropriate polices,
set suitable electricity prices for a long term and give priority to the use of
wind power in the national grid.

Steve Sawyer, secretary
general of the Global Wind Energy Council, said at the conference that wind
power contributed around half of the world’s electricity production growth in
2015.

Wind power makes up 4%
of the world’s electricity output and the percentage may climb to 8% by 2020,
18-20% by 2030 and around 30% by 2050 if countries concentrate on combating
climate change, said Sawyer.

Charlotte Laursen,
Danish Ambassador to Vietnam, said that according to Vietnam’s power industry
development strategy adopted in 2011, the proportion of renewable energy in its
total power output would reach 7% by 2020 and 10% by 2030 (excluding
hydropower).

Wind power plays a
pivotal role in this strategy, she said, because Vietnam has the biggest wind
power potential in the region. Denmark is ready to help Vietnam develop this
source of clean energy, she noted.

Vietnam is becoming
attractive locations for investors producing solar panels from China, Taiwan to
expand production in order to meet increasing demands of the world as well as
make use of the advantages of tax for exports to the two largest markets which
are the US and Europe.

Vina Solar has just
signed a contract with GCL-SI – China’s leading solar panels manufacturer and
Trina Solar Company to develop the project to produce solar energy panels with
capacity of 600 MW and 1 GW at the factories in Vietnam.
In particular, GCL-SI Company also announced an investment of 32 million USD
together with Solar Vina in Vietnam.

According to President
of GCL-SI, this investment is not only brings cost advantages but also help
organizing the supply chain of the Company.

Also reported by GCL-SI
Company, this is a notable move to strengthen competitiveness as well as to
expand opportunities to join the US and EU markets as these two markets are
having trade barriers, which are set for solar energy panels manufacturing in
China and Taiwan.

Meanwhile, with an
investment of 100 million USD, Trian Solar Company has recently completed construction
the project producing solar energy panels with capacity of 800 MW/year in Bac
Giang – the province with highest solar energy panels production scale in the
country, with a total capacity of 5,200 MW/year. Moreover, Bac Giang is forming
production and assembly chains of solar energy panels
with 8 projects have been licensed, the total registered capital reached 635
million USD.

Under the agreement,
Vina Solar will supply and assemble PV modules for Trina Solar. This is the
largest project of Trina Solar in Vietnam. The
project has a workshop area of 42,000 m2, with 14 modern production lines, the
factory produce many kinds of single-crystal and polycrystalline batteries. The
products are exported to all continents in the world.

According to the
Chairman and CEO of Trina Solar, the factory in Vietnam is a result of global
strategy, following the opening of the factories producing solar energy panels in
Malaysia and Thailand. This cooperation will bring benefits for both parties,
helping to bring solar energy panel production technology to Vietnam and create
about 1,000 jobs.

In November 2016, JA
Solar Corporation (China) has started construction of the 1 billion USD project
to build a factory producing solar energy batteries at Quang Chau Industrial
Park (Bac Giang). The project is divided into several stages, with the scale of
88 hectares of land.

According to forecasts,
the demand for solar energy panels worldwide will increase after 2016, while
the cost of installation and production will continue to decline. According to
the report of International Renewable Energy Agency, that trend will contribute
to replace fossil energy. This is the reason why many solar panels projects are
warming up in Vietnam, after several major projects are bankrupt previously.

ANT Consulting is here
to assist you from the outset; providing corporate intelligence, risk advisory,
management consulting services that assist market entrance, and ensure
efficient business start-up operation. Our services are as following:

We strive to save your
cost by guiding you towards economical solutions that comply with local
legislation and procedures. We support you through early logistic solutions and
carry you through as your business grows.
We aim to bridge the gap between international best practices and local
cultures and assist foreign companies and organizations entering Vietnam market
to overcome commercial and regulatory issues.

We could be reached at email: ant@antconsult.vn or tel: +848
3520 2779 . To learn more about us, please visit www.antconsult.vn

CMC – Despite huge
potential for renewable energy development, Vietnam has found it hard to
attract investments and expand operational projects due to low electricity
prices and lack of policy incentives.

At a seminar on clean
energy in HCMC, experts were of
the opinion that Vietnam still relies heavily on limited fossil energy sources.
This has prompted the Government to work out plans for renewable
energydevelopment.

The nation may have to
pay a dear price for the environment and the local economy in the future if the
Government fails to change energy policy and find suitable measures to develop
the sector, they said.

Vietnam has many
favorable conditions to develop clean energy sources such as wind, solar power
and gases from landfills, and a number of projects have been deployed in the
sector in recent times.

Sundar Venkataraman,
technical director at General Electric Energy Consulting Co., said Vietnam
has potential for wind powerdevelopment and
that many investors have expressed interest in the industry. Wind farms require
high investments but their operation cost is lower than thermal power plants as
they need no fuel.

According to the U.S.
Trade and Development Agency (USTDA), many U.S. companies are seeking to expand
investments in the energy sector in Vietnam. However, a lack of supporting
policies, difficult capital mobilization and unattractive electricity prices
for green energy are their major concerns.

Gavin Smith,
director of Clean Development Fund at Dragon Capital, said
the Government has not thrown strong support behind renewable energy projects in
the country and the legal framework in this area is still underdeveloped.

The low buying prices
for wind and biomass power prices make it difficult for companies to invest in
projects in this sector.

To make the most of renewable energy potential in Vietnam,
investors want the Government to issue support policy for power prices and
encourage banks to finance renewable energy projects.

The ACV made just $1 per passenger from retail
services last year, far behind regional operators.

Despite robust growth in passenger numbers, the state-owned
Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV), which operates the country’s civilian
airports, generated only $81 million from non-aeronauticalbusinessessuch as airport retail in 2016, or 15 percent of the annual
target.

Industry experts said the airport operator’s revenue
mainly comes from the aeronautical sector such as landing fees and passenger
service charges. Meanwhile it hasn't focused enough on non-aeronautical
business, especially the airport retail business.

The operator estimated its revenue from retail at $1
per passenger last year, far below the average of other airport operators in
Asia that reached up to $12.

Thailand’s AOT and Malaysia’s BHD raked in $4-5 per
passenger last year.

The ACV, which operates 22 civilian airportsin Vietnam, recorded significant
growth in passenger traffic in 2016 to an estimated 81 million, with Vietnam’s
airline market developing at the third-fastest pace in the Asia-Pacific region.

According to market research group Nielsen,
Vietnam’s airline market will be fueled by the middle and affluent class which
is forecast to rise from 12 million people in 2014 to 33 million by 2020.

However, ACV revenue lags behind it's Thai counterpart even
after factoring differences in passenger traffic. As of the end of the
third quarter of 2016, the ACV’s annual revenue was only equal to 40 percent of
Thailand’s airport operator AOT while passenger traffic made up as much as 68
percent.

The proportion of international arrivals at Vietnam’s
airports is about 30 percent of total passenger traffic, compared to 58 percent
in Thailand and 48 percent in Malaysia, while service charges on international
travelers are higher than those for domestic passengers. That partly explains
why the ACV is so far behind many of its competitors in the region in terms of
revenue.

Airports Corporation of Vietnam, which is currently valued
at $1.2 billion, is one of Vietnam’s biggest state-owned enterprises.

Last year, the ACV raised $51.6 million by
selling a 3.47 percent stake in an initial public offering where foreigners
snapped up 82 percent of the shares on offer.

France's Aeroports de Paris SA has emerged as
the front-runner to buy a 20 percent stakein the HoChi Minh City-based
company, according to the Transport Ministry. The deal is scheduled to take
place in March.

Solar energy is
encouraged to invest by Vietnam Government. Therefore, there were many foreign
business delegations come to Vietnam to find out opportunities in this area.

On January 11th 2017,
Chairman of Binh Dinh Province has met and worked with the President of Truong
Thanh Investment and Development Co., Ltd (Vietnam) and Truong Thanh’s partners
from Japan and Spain to find out opportunities to invest in solar
energy plant project in Binh Dinh, Vietnam.

According to
representatives of Truong Thanh, in recent time, the Company has made the solar power
plant investment project proposal in Cat Hiep commune, Phu Cat
district, Binh Dinh province. The project capacity is 95mW, using land area of
about 150 hectares.

The expected investment
capital for plant construction is 4,000 billion VND. Tuong Thanh Company wants
to be supported by leaders in Binh Dinh Province and relevant local Government
agencies with the investment procedures.

According to Chairman of
Binh Dinh Province, they are always welcome and encourage enterprises to invest
in power plant using renewable energy,
which is very environmentally friendly.

ANT Consulting is here
to assist you from the outset; providing corporate intelligence, risk advisory,
management consulting services that assist market entrance, and ensure
efficient business start-up operation. Our services are as following:

We strive to save your
cost by guiding you towards economical solutions that comply with local
legislation and procedures. We support you through early logistic solutions and
carry you through as your business grows.
We aim to bridge the gap between international best practices and local
cultures and assist foreign companies and organizations entering Vietnam market
to overcome commercial and regulatory issues.

We could be reached at
email: ant@antconsult.vn or
tel: +848 3520 2779 . To learn more about us, please visit
www.antconsult.vn

Bac Ninh Provincial
People’s Committee has just sent an official letter to the Prime Minister on
supporting Samsung Display Co., Ltd Vietnam (SDV) in the process of project
expansion in Bac Ninh province.

According to the
Provincial People’s Committee of Bac Ninh, so far SDV has raised investment
capital to 4 billion USD. Reportedly, SDV’s total revenue in 2015 was 2.7
billion USD, in which exports reached 2.5 billion USD. Accumulated to October
2016, SDV has revenue of 5.9 billion USD.

Project disbursement
schedule of Samsung by the end of 2016 is estimated at 2.5 billion USD.
Expected in 2017, Samsung will disburse the registered capital of 4 billion USD
in Bac Ninh.

Bac Ninh confirmed that
SDV has done on schedule and as planned when the entire Module 3 project when
come into operation will be a prerequisite to attract more companies to serve
SDV.

Notably, SDV has
expressed their desire to invest an additional of 2.5 billion USD, disbursed in
5 years since 2018. Thereby, raising the total investment in
Bac Ninh to 6.5 billion USD.

Recently, according to
Mr. Hyun Woo Bang – Deputy General Director of Samsung Vietnam, in 2016,
although the Company has to face with the problem of Samsung Galaxy Note 7,
thanks to the support of the Government and Ministries in Vietnam, Samsung has
overcome difficult period. In 2016, revenue of Samsung Vietnam reached 46.3
billion USD; exports reached 39.9 billion USD, increased by 9.9% compared to
2015.

Samsung accounted for
22.7% of export turnover nationwide, a slight increase compared to the rate of
20% of the previous year.

Reportedly, Bac Ninh is
the province that attracting a lot of foreign
investment projects in Vietnam. Moreover, Bac Ninh is the investment
destination of 30 countries and territories around the world. Accumulated up to
the present time, in the Industrial Zones in Bac Ninh province, 1,050 projects
are licensed with a total investment of 13.1 billion USD. FDI sector has
created 231,000 jobs.

ANT Consulting is here
to assist you from the outset; providing corporate intelligence, risk advisory,
management consulting services that assist market entrance, and ensure
efficient business start-up operation. Our services are as following:

We strive to save your
cost by guiding you towards economical solutions that comply with local
legislation and procedures. We support you through early logistic solutions and
carry you through as your business grows.
We aim to bridge the gap between international best practices and local
cultures and assist foreign companies and organizations entering Vietnam market
to overcome commercial and regulatory issues.

We could be reached at
email: ant@antconsult.vn or
tel: +848 3520 2779 . To learn more about us, please visit
www.antconsult.vn

Cargill Company (USA) is
planning to build a factory specializing in producing livestock feed in Bac
Ninh. It shows the attraction of Vietnam market,
which makes foreign enterprises to come and invest in Vietnam.

On January 6th 2017,
Chairman of Bac Ninh province had a meeting with Mr. Jorge – CEO of Cargill
Vietnam came to survey and explore Bac Ninh province. Cargill is the US leading
company in the fields of agriculture, food, industrial products and financial
services. With more than 150,000 employees working in over 100 countries in the
world, the revenues of the Company reached 150 billion USD a year.

In Vietnam, Cargill has
11 factories manufacturing and processing livestock feed in many localities
across the country, such as Dong Nai, Hung Yen, Long An, Can Tho, Binh Dinh,
Dong Thap and Nghe An…, creating jobs for thousands of workers.

Through surveys, Mr.
Jorge impressed with the favorable investment environment, infrastructure, drastic
and flexible management system of Bac Ninh province. Hence, the Company intends
to build a factory manufacturing livestock feed in Que Vo 3 Industrial Zone in
the first quarter of 2017.

It is expected that the
Cargill factory has a total investment of 60 million USD, with the area of land
to be used is 11 – 13 ha, capacity of 70,000 tons/month. This will be the
largest factory of the Company in Vietnam,
applying modern technology and equipment with a closed and environmental
friendly deodorizing process.

The Chairman of Bac Ninh
province welcomes Cargill Company has trusted and choose Bac Ninh as investment
destination to invest in stable and long-term production. He also assigned
the Management Board of Industrial Zones in coordination with the VID Group –
the infrastructure investor of Que Vo 3 Industrial Park and other offices
complete the legal procedures and creating all necessary conditions for the
project of Cargill Company.

Bac Ninh is one of the
leading provinces in attracting FDI, with nearly 1,000 projects with total
registered capital of over 12.26 billion USD. In which there are many projects
of large companies such as Microsoft, Samsung, Pepsico and Canon…

ANT Consulting is here
to assist you from the outset; providing corporate intelligence, risk advisory,
management consulting services that assist market entrance, and ensure
efficient business start-up operation. Our services are as following:

We strive to save your
cost by guiding you towards economical solutions that comply with local
legislation and procedures. We support you through early logistic solutions and
carry you through as your business grows.
We aim to bridge the gap between international best practices and local
cultures and assist foreign companies and organizations entering Vietnam market
to overcome commercial and regulatory issues.

We could be reached at email: ant@antconsult.vn or tel: +848
3520 2779 . To learn more about us, please visit www.antconsult.vn

Currently, Mr. Yang Jin
Seol, CEO of Hanwha Techwin Company (Korea) came to Bac Ninh to survey and
explore the investment environment in Bac Ninh province.

Working with the
Chairman of Bac Ninh Province, Mr. Yang Jin Seol said that Hanwha Techwin
Company (under Hanwha Group) is specializing in producing security devices with
27 networks globally. Turnover of the Company in 2015 reached nearly 600
million USD.

Through survey and
research, the Company is expected to invest in building factories in Que Vo
Industrial Zone with a total investment of 50 million USD, in which the first
phase (2017-2019) is 30 million USD. When put into operation, the plant will
create jobs for about 1,500 – 2,000 labor, with capacity of 2 million
pieces/year.

Mr. Yang Jin Seol hopes
that the company’s business ideas will be interested and the provincial leaders
will create favorable conditions, especially the preferential policies for
enterprises producing high-tech products so that the Company can early implemented
the plant construction in the first quarter of 2017.

The Chairman of Bac Ninh
province welcomes Hanwha Techwin Company have trusted and choose Bac Ninh as
investment destination to invest in stable and long-term production. He
also assigned the Management Board of Industrial Zones in
coordination with the Kinh Bac Urban Development Corporation – the
infrastructure investor of Que Vo Industrial Park and other offices complete
the legal procedures and creating all necessary conditions for the project of
Hanwha Techwin Company.

Bac Ninh is one of the
leading provinces in attracting FDI with nearly 1,000 projects with total
registered capital of over 12.26 billion USD. South Korea has more than 400
projects, accounting for about 50% of total FDI capital of the whole province,
in which there are many projects of large companies such
as Samsung, Orion, Daewoo, Flexcom, Intops, Nano Tech…

ANT Consulting is here
to assist you from the outset; providing corporate intelligence, risk advisory, management consulting services that assist
market entrance, and ensure efficient business start-up operation. Our
services are as following:

We strive to save your
cost by guiding you towards economical solutions that comply with local
legislation and procedures. We support you through early logistic solutions and
carry you through as your business grows.
We aim to bridge the gap between international best practices and local
cultures and assist foreign companies and organizations entering Vietnam market
to overcome commercial and regulatory issues.

We could be reached at
email: ant@antconsult.vn or
tel: +848 3520 2779 . To learn more about us, please visit
www.antconsult.vn

The total number of
shares that foreign shareholders are holding at Vietjet Air accounting for more
than 24% of charter capital.

Recently, Vietnam’s
Deputy Minister of Transport has signed a written approval for Vietjet’s 5
shareholders to transfer 66,506,870 shares, equivalent to 22.169% of the
charter capital of 3,000 billion VND to 23 foreign investors.

Earlier, in December
2016, the Ministry of Transport has also agreed for 1 Vietjet’s shareholder to
transfer 6.566 million shares, equivalent to 2.626% of charter capital for 3
foreign investors, who are: Wareham Group Limited (British Virgin Island), Dragon
Capital Markets Limited (Cayman Island) and DC Developing Markets Strategies
Public Company (Ireland). The amount of transferred money was not revealed, but
ranged from 65 billion VND to 788 billion VND. The transfer has been completed
and aproved by the Department of Planning and Investment of Hanoi on December
22nd 2016.

In total, the transfer
of shares to foreign investors has
reached 24.358% of charter capital.

According to Vietnam
Civil Aviation Administration, the transfer of shares to foreign investors of
Vietjet is valid. The transfer does not increase the charter capital of
Vietjet, foreign investors do not participate in the executive apparatus,
management operations and administration works of Vietjet and therefore it does
not alter the business plan and
development strategy of Vietjet.

Relating to the transfer
of shares to foreign investors, according to Decree 92, the foreign parties
cannot occupy more than 30% of charter capital and foreign members shall not
exceed 1/3 of the total number of members participating in the executive
apparatus.

Vietjet Air is the first
airline in Vietnam operating under the model of the new generation airline,
with low cost and provides a variety of services for customers to select.
Vietjet is an official member of the International Air Transport Association
(IATA) with IOSA safety operation certificate. Besides the position of “Top 500
Leading Brands in Asia in 2016”, Vietjet is voted as “Best Asian Low Cost
Carrier” in 2015 by the TTG Travel Awards and Top 3 airlines that have fastest
growth facebook fanpage in the world, evaluated by SocialBakers.

Currently, Vietjet is
operating 42 A320 and A321 aircrafts, performed about 350 flights a day and has
transported nearly 35 million passengers, with 60 routes covering destinations
in Vietnam and international routes to Hong Kong, Singapore, Korea, Taiwan,
China, Thailand, Myanmar, Malaysia, Cambodia…

Vietjet has planned to
develop extensive flight network throughout Asia – Pacific region. Moreover,
they are studying for further expansion of routes in the region and has signed
procurement contracts to purchase new generation aircrafts.

We strive to save your
cost by guiding you towards economical solutions that comply with local
legislation and procedures. We support you through early logistic solutions and
carry you through as your business grows.
We aim to bridge the gap between international best practices and local
cultures and assist foreign companies and organizations entering Vietnam market
to overcome commercial and regulatory issues.

We could be reached at email: ant@antconsult.vn or tel: +848
3520 2779 . To learn more about us, please visit www.antconsult.vn

The game, hailed by the
industry as one of the milestones of Vietnam's startup history, has brought
Dong great fame and fortune, all within a short period of time.

Now Dong is making a
pledge to pay it forward and fund Vietnamese startups in the fields
of robotics, artificial intelligence, social services, community development
and education.

“Just propose those
projects to me, no matter how bad it is,” he wrote on his Facebook page.

He did not give specific
details about mentoring and funding.

Flappy Bird was released
in May 2013 with little fanfare. By February 2014, the sleeper hit topped the
charts in more than 100 countries and had been downloaded more than 50 million
times. Dong reportedly earned an estimated $50,000 a day.

The Vietnamese
government has seen successes like Flappy Bird as an encouraging sign. It is
trying hard to cultivate a startup scene where tech entrepreneurs can create
products and services that will go global.

Unlike the
well-developed startup ecosystem in most other countries, where there are
venture capitalists and a strong network of entrepreneurs working together, the
system in Vietnam is at a
fledgling stage, with many funding difficulties.

The farms, one in the
central region and the other in the south, will have a combined capacity of 940
MW.

Companies from Vietnam,
Ireland and the U.S. on Monday signed cooperation agreements to build two wind farms in Vietnam worth
$2.2 billion.

Part of a wind farm in
the Tuy Phong District of Binh Thuan Province. Photo courtesy of Nguoi Lao dong
news site

The pacts are part of
various deals reached by Vietnam and Ireland during the visit to Vietnam by
President of Ireland Michael D. Higgins from November 5-14.

Vietnam’s Phu Cuong
Corporation will join hands with Ireland’s Mainstream Renewable Power Ltd. and
the U.S. giant General Electric to set up an 800-megawatt wind farm in the
southern province of Soc Trang. The project will need $2 billion.

In the second project,
Vietnam’s Pacific Corporation will cooperate with Mainstream Renewable Power
Ltd. to build another 140-MW wind farm in the central province of Binh Thuan,
which is worth $200 million for construction.

The same day Vietnam and
Ireland also signed other agreements on poverty reduction, education and
training, information and communications.

Vietnam has recently
revised down the target for electricity generation by coal-fired thermal power
plants from 56.4 percent of the total electricity generation to 53.2 percent by
2030.

The country is more
focused on renewable energy, particularly solar and wind energy, targeting a renewable energy ratio
of 10.7 percent by 2030.

But that will require a
lot of investment in the coming years. Wind and solar power capacity
is estimated to account for only 0.8 percent and 0.5 percent of total
electricity generation respectively by 2020.

With over 3,000 km of
coastline and numerous islands, Vietnam has more wind power potential than
most of other Southeast Asian nations with a total estimated capacity of 24,000
MW, the Vietnam News Agency has reported.

The country is also
shifting attention to renewable energy to
meet the needs of the economy.

Vietnam may need to
invest about VND859 trillion ($38 billion) in electricity generation, transmission
and distribution infrastructure between now and 2020 to meet domestic demand,
the government said in a new report.

That is equivalent to 20
percent of the country's gross domestic product last year.

According to the report,
about 75 percent of the investment will go to generation and the remaining 25
percent to upgrade, repair and expand the national transmission and
distribution system.

The government said a
majority of the investment would be funded by loans and the state budget would
cover only 0.5 percent.

The average electricity
consumption steadily grew at 13 percent between 2000 and 2010, and about 11
percent between 2011 and 2015, said Le Tuan Phong, deputy head of the General
Directorate of Energy, under the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

The country’s
electricity demand is expected to continue to grow 13 percent annually in the
next four years to feed the economy, which has grown above 5 percent a year on
average since 1999 and is forecast to reach 6.5-7 percent in the next four
years.

It is estimated that
Vietnam will need about 47 billion kilowatt-hours by 2030 for the annual
economic growth rate of 7 percent.

Vietnam is trying to
generate enough energy for growth and for millions of people who still lack
access to electricity while gradually shifting towards clean and low-carbon
energy, said Tran Dinh Thien, who heads the Vietnam Economic Institute.

The government has
recently revised down the target for electricity generation by coal-fired
thermal power plants from 56.4
percent of the total electricity generation to 53.2 percent by 2030.

Vietnam is more focused
on renewable energy, particularly solar and wind energy,
targeting a renewable energy ratio of 10.7 percent by 2030.

But that will require a
lot of investment in the coming years. Wind and solar power capacity
is estimated to account for only 0.8 percent and 0.5 percent of total
electricity generation respectively by 2020.